On Tuesday, 16 June, Archbishop Martino made the following statement in English,
Here is the text.

Mr. President,

The Delegation of the Holy See wishes to begin by expressing its sincere thanks and
appreciation to the Italian Government for its generosity and hospitality in hosting this
Diplomatic Conference. I am pleased to convey to this assembly the greetings of His
Holiness Pope John Paul II. My delegation is very optimistic that the arrangements and
provisions made for our work at this centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization will
greatly assist the very delicate and difficult work which faces us over the next several
weeks.

The Holy See has very actively participated in the Preparatory Committee meetings which
have preceded and led up to this Conference as a sign of its deep interest in matters
which touch upon the questions of justice, reconciliation and the good of the human
person. As Pope John Paul has stated: "Within the international community the Holy
See supports every effort to establish effective juridical structures for safeguarding the
dignity and fundamental rights of individuals and communities. Such structures however can
never be sufficient in themselves; they are only mechanisms which need to be inspired by a
firm and persevering moral commitment to the good of the human family as a whole. For
communities no less than for individuals, commitment to solidarity, reconciliation and
peace demands a genuine conversion of heart and an openness to the transcendent truth
which is the ultimate guarantee of human freedom and dignity" (11 January 1997).

With this basis, I would like to highlight several important considerations regarding
the establishment of such a Court:

- Any International Criminal Court should exist in order to ensure protection of the
dignity of the human person. This dignity is shared by every human person, regardless of
his age, race, ethnic origin, status as a combatant or non-combatant, sex or stage in
human life, from the unborn to the elderly. Because each person shares in this human
dignity, each person, without exception, is entitled to the protection of the law which
such a Court would oversee. The statutes and the crimes which shall be under the
jurisdiction of the Court must reflect this equal dignity shared by all.

- As a consequence an important principle that must underlie the justice to be
dispensed and assured by an International Criminal Court is that of suum cuique,
to each person his due. Again to cite Pope John Paul II: "Among the primary aims of
law must be to ensure that each person receives his due, at every level of social life.
The recognition that the human person is by nature the subject of certain rights which
no individual, group or State may violate represents a significant juridical
achievement and must be considered as an essential principle of international law" (Address
to the World Jurist Association of the World Peace Through Law Center, 9 May 1992).
Those who have been harmed are due the protection of the law. Those who are responsible
for violations of the most heinous crimes which offend the conscience of the human family,
the crimes which will fall under the jurisdiction of this Court, must be made to accept
their responsibility in accordance with universal norms. It is indeed the right of society
to manifest, by means of law and juridical structures, those objective and eternal values
which protect and order the human family and human dignity.

- As an instrument of justice, such a Court must be conceived as a means of seeking not
revenge but the restoration of that right relationship within the human family which will
lead to reconciliation. Accordingly, the verdicts, and most especially the sentences which
the Court will impose, must always keep in mind this higher goal of reconciliation. For
that reason, the Holy See is convinced that the death penalty has no place in this
statute. The destruction of life - be it as punishment or as panacea - is inconsistent
with the universal norms that serve to justify an International Criminal Court.

Finally, Mr. President, the Holy See wishes to stress the need to formulate statutes
for this Court which will ensure its independence from political concerns and pressures -
particularly those which reflect the particular rather than the universal, the exclusive
rather than the inclusive. It is an inherent element of justice that everyone stands equal
before the law. Any structures or rules which could lead to decisions about guilt or
innocence that are based upon political rather than juridical considerations have a
questionable role in the proposed statute.

I wish to express to this Conference the confidence of the Holy See that the work we
undertake here will be fruitful and harmonious. The creation of an International Criminal
Court is a very important initiative which will touch upon the rights and lives of nations
and communities as well as those of individuals. May almighty God bless our efforts So
that future generations might look upon this Court as a substantial contribution to
respect for law and for the rights of all men and women everywhere in the world -
regardless of who speaks for them and who does not - for each is a child of God created in
his own likeness.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Taken
from:L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
24 June 1998, page 4

L'Osservatore
Romano is the newspaper of the Holy See.
The Weekly Edition in English is published for the US by: